David Scheffer, the first ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues in the U.S., will deliver a presentation on the fate of those responsible for atrocity crimes on March 6 at 2:30 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall. Organized by the School of Law’s Dean Rusk Center for International Law and Policy and the Georgia Society of International and Comparative Law, the lecture is free and open to the public.
Selected by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the “Top Global Thinkers of 2011,” Scheffer will talk about atrocity crimes and address how indicted leaders will face either international trial or “vengeful retribution.” His presentation will draw from his book All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals, which chronicles his direct involvement in efforts to establish international criminal tribunals as well as his experience heading the U.S. team negotiating the statute of the International Criminal Court.
“Georgia Law is very proud to host a key insider in U.S. efforts to prosecute those responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities of our time,” said C. Donald Johnson, director of the Rusk Center. “Ambassador Scheffer’s experience on the front lines will bring meaningful and necessary discussion to our community.”
Scheffer currently serves as the United Nations secretary-general’s special expert on the Khmer Rouge trials and is also the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and the director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University.